Effects of a sorbitol-containing additive fed to dairy cows for 30 days postpartum.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of early postpartum supplementation of Rally®, a sorbitol-containing feed additive (RAL), on lactation performance and automatic milking system (AMS) metrics on a commercial dairy farm. Multiparous (MT) and primiparous (PP) Holstein cows were randomly assigned to either RAL supplementation (570 g/d RAL; RAL-MT, n = 75, RAL-PP, n = 34) or control (CTL-MT, n = 72; CTL-PP, n = 38). The RAL cows were supplemented from 1 to 30 d in milk via an automated feed dispenser in the AMS.

Farmers' Perceptions on Implementing Automatic Milking Systems in Large USA Dairies: Decision-Making Process, Management Practices, Labor, and Herd Performance.

Automatic Milking System (AMS) installations are increasing in the USA despite the higher investment cost than conventional systems. Surveys on AMSs conducted outside the USA focused on small-medium herds, specific regions, or aspects of AMS milking. This study described farmers' perceptions about the decision-making process of adopting an AMS in the USA's large dairies (≥7 AMS boxes) regarding changes in technology, housing, management practices, labor, herd performance, and health.

The Defensive Behaviors and Milk Production of Pastured Dairy Cattle in Response to Stable Flies, Horn Flies, and Face Flies.

Thirty-four crossbred dairy cows were observed on pasture six times per week from June to August 2014 at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center grazing dairy in Morris, MN, for defensive behaviors in response to three species of muscid flies. Counts of stable flies ( (L.)), horn flies ( (L.

Association between change in body weight during early lactation and milk production in automatic milking system herds.

The objective of this observational study was to investigate the association between percent body weight (BW) change in early lactation and the 90-d cumulative milk yield of dairy cows in automatic milking system (AMS) herds. Retrospective daily cow data were collected from the Lely T4C (Lely Industries, Maassluis, the Netherlands) software on 34 farms. Cows were categorized by parity into parity 1 (P1), parity 2 (P2), or parity 3 and greater (P3+).

Public Views of Dairy Calf Welfare and Dairy Consumption Habits of American Youth and Adults.

The primary objective of this study was to explore views of dairy calf welfare and dairy product consumption habits among youth and adults. The secondary objective was to explore views of dairy calf welfare and dairy product consumption habits among a subset of parent-child pairs. Participants 5-17 years of age ( = 463) and 18 years old or greater ( = 1,310) completed an in-person survey at the Minnesota State Fair (St.

Association between early postpartum rumination time and peak milk yield in dairy cows.

Limited information is available on the relationship between rumination time (RT) in the early postpartum period and milk production later in lactation. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the association of change in RT and average RT during the immediate postpartum period with peak milk yield (PMY) in dairy cows, and (2) determine the best model based on days in milk (DIM) to evaluate this association. Cows from 33 free-flow automatic milking system farms were included in this study, where retrospective milk production and RT data were collected for 12 mo.

Effect of age of introduction to an automated milk feeder on calf learning and performance and labor requirements.

Group housing of dairy calves with automated milk feeders (AMF) is increasingly being used, but the effect of introducing calves to the AMF at a very young age (<24 h) on calf performance, health, and welfare, as well as farm personnel labor requirements are unknown. The objective of this controlled trial was to investigate whether early (<24 h after birth) introduction of calves affects the time to learn how to drink from the AMF, labor requirements for feeding milk during the learning phase, and average daily gain during the milk-feeding period compared with calves conventionally introduced at 5 d of age. Sixty Holstein calves (heifers and bulls) were assigned at birth to either early introduction (<24 h after birth) or conventional introduction (at 5 d of age) to the group pen with AMF.

Housing, management characteristics, and factors associated with lameness, hock lesion, and hygiene of lactating dairy cattle on Upper Midwest United States dairy farms using automatic milking systems.

The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to describe housing and management practices on farms using automatic milking systems (AMS) in 2 states of the upper Midwest and to evaluate the association of various housing and management factors with 3 measures of animal welfare: prevalence of lameness, severe hock lesions, and dirty cows. Fifty-four farms were visited once to collect facility measurements and observations, interview the dairy producer, and score cows for locomotion, hock lesions, and hygiene. Median number of AMS units/farm was 2 (interquartile range = 1; range = 1 to 8).

Factors associated with productivity on automatic milking system dairy farms in the Upper Midwest United States.

The objective of this study was to identify housing and management factors associated with productivity on automatic milking system (AMS) dairy farms measured as daily milk yield/AMS and daily milk yield/cow. Management, housing, and lameness prevalence data were collected from 33 AMS farms in Minnesota and Wisconsin during a farm visit. All farms in the study used free-flow cow traffic.

Associations between management practices and within-pen prevalence of calf diarrhea and respiratory disease on dairy farms using automated milk feeders.

Data on management practices used with automated milk feeders (AMF) are needed to identify factors associated with calf health in these systems. The objectives of this observational, longitudinal, cross-sectional study were to estimate the prevalence of calf diarrhea (CD) and bovine respiratory disease (BRD), and to identify factors associated with prevalence of these diseases at the pen level on dairy farms feeding milk to group-housed calves with AMF. Seventeen dairy farms with AMF in Ontario, Canada, were visited 4 times, seasonally, over 1 yr.

The Relationship of Cow Comfort and Flooring to Lameness Disorders in Dairy Cattle.

Cow comfort and flooring contribute to lameness incidence in dairy herds. The trigger factors for lameness can all be exacerbated by poor cow comfort. Reduced cow comfort influences lameness incidence by increasing the risk for development of new cases and the time it takes for a cow to recover.

Association between Prepartum Feeding Behavior and Periparturient Health Disorders in Dairy Cows.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between prepartum feeding behavior, measured as time spent feeding per day, and periparturient health disorders, milk yield, milk composition, and milk somatic cell count in Jersey cows. Pregnant Jersey cows were marked with unique alphanumeric symbols and were moved into a prepartum group 4 weeks prior to their expected calving date. At enrollment, cows with a body condition score <2 or >4 or a locomotion score >3 were not included.

Social stressors and their effects on immunity and health of periparturient dairy cows.

Management practices during the periparturient period have been the focus of much research recently because during this period immune function, metabolism, and health of cows are severely challenged. Responses to stress are often classified as behavioral, immunological, neuroendocrine, and autonomic. In production systems, understanding all facets of stress response is important to correctly predict the consequences of stressors to the health and performance of animals and to prevent costly managerial changes that have minimal effect on animal well-being and performance.

Characterization of peripartum rumination and activity of cows diagnosed with metabolic and uterine diseases.

The objectives of the current experiment were to characterize the correlation among total serum Ca, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), and haptoglobin concentrations and daily rumination time (DRT) and activity of periparturient cows and to determine the association between periparturient events and peripartum DRT and activity. Holstein animals (nulliparous = 77, parous = 219) were enrolled in the experiment approximately 21 d before expected calving date. Cows were fitted with individual Heat Rumination Long Distance collars (HRLD, SCR Engineers Ltd.

Association between hygiene scores and somatic cell scores in dairy cattle.

Objective: To develop a simple system for scoring hygiene in dairy cattle and determine whether hygiene scores were associated with individual cow somatic cell scores (SCSs).

Design: Observational study.

Animals: 1,191 cows.